What are the success factors of an authentic brand identity?

: studying the effect of sports event sponsorship on perceived brand authenticity

Abstract

In recent years, the concept of authentic branding has emerged as a pillar of contemporary marketing. This master thesis investigates the association of consumer perceived brand authenticity and the brand's engagement in major sports event sponsorship. It is devoted to comprehending the contingent relevance of an authentic brand identity and to devising success factors that guide the transformation to, and measurability of, authenticity.A primary and quantitative online survey-based study method was applied to ascertain the interaction effects between perceived brand authenticity and brand activities. The study followed a ‘step-by-step’ approach with the objective of gradually unfolding the extent to which factors such as the brand's communicated founding date, country of origin, name, and sponsorship of sporting events influence perceived brand authenticity.The analysis indicates that the communicated items of iconic cues and the brand name are essential to enhance the perceived brand authenticity. The findings of this thesis suggest that perceived brand authenticity stems from the interaction of factual iconic attributes and the subjective connotations that are measured on several distinct authenticity dimensions. A brand’s engagement in major sports event sponsorship increases the perceived brand authenticity. It is inferred that associating the brand's heritage with its core values through iconic cues and linking these communication efforts to involvement in sponsorship of sporting events increases perceived brand authenticity.The derivation of generalizable success factors across product categories is rather ambiguous, as the evaluation of authenticity hinges on consumer-specific characteristics that render perceived brand authenticity a subjective construct.

Date of Award	20 Oct 2021
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Peter Jarnebrant (Supervisor)